The second female lead Dual Cultivates

"The curse being put on you is shining bright. Be careful or it might engulf you whole" Maria felt those words hit her and she could feel a disturbance in her magic. Along with her own, there were many other sources of magic inside her that she had never paid attention to before.

It was often said that if you pull magic from a source, it tends to stay with you forever. The world, your surroundings, and even the people you've been with left marks on your being. Maria had never paid much attention to it before.

But now? Now she could see those little details. The lack of external factors made Maria more in tune with her internal magic. She could feel the magic inside her swirl around and reach out toward her core.

She had never seen magic be this sensitive before to her command but it still refused to move how she wanted it to. It got stuck underneath her skin every time she tried to command it.

"Is that why I can't use magic right now? I can feel it inside me but it refuses to respond to me" it worried Maria a lot, her inability to be able to perform her magic.

She had initially thought of it as a by-product of being in this place but maybe it was more than that. Her system had not told her about it in its initial report but Maria had not probed either.

"It's not just you but Jamaica as a whole that has been cursed. However, as a magic user, you feel that curse more closely. It won't be long before it takes you over as well and you become unable to use magic as well. Can't you feel your magic fade?" The female with Yura's face asked.

"No" the answer was almost instantaneous and spoken with Maria's instincts in play.

Maria had never noticed it before but those eyes had no pupils. It was unnerving to look into those eyes and be able to maintain calm. They were distracting and also made her lose focus with their shiny reflection.

Maria took a deep breath to focus on the question being asked. Had she lost any of her magic without knowing? It did not feel as if anything was missing inside her reserves, even if they did run a little low.

She coughed to interpret the tense atmosphere her words had created and continued her explanation.

"I don't feel as if any of my magic is missing, just obstructed. However, I won't be able to tell the difference until I'm able to perform magic" Maria clarified. She hoped that she had not just offended the queen in front of her.

The magic around her pressed against Maria in warning but she ignored it. It was not hurting her and likely will not hurt her as long as she kept herself physically in check.

"Is that so? I guess only time will tell such things. The influence of the divine is strong on you so maybe you are being protected for now. But what is your intention in coming here? People don't travel to Jamaica often" the queen asked.

She seemed to be past the whole 'no-magic' talk so Maria did not bring it back. She had a feeling her meddling would not be appreciated by the Queen.

Then again, she could try and strong-arm her way with her system. And if not, well, she'll think of something eventually.

"My primary objective was to deal with the node. Since Jamaica's node is not workable, I wish to move to the next world" Maria replied back. As much as she did not want to offend the queen, she also did want to move on to the next world.

The more she stayed in Jamaica, the more she felt like something was wrong with this place. And her lack of magic did not do her any favors. This place held a lot of the answers to the questions Maria had, but she was not sure if she was ready to hear those answers yet.

"Oh! Running away, are we? Unfortunately for you, you do not have that choice. Once the curse has affected you, you cannot leave this plane. If only you had not met that shadow in the forest, you would still have that option" the queen replied back.

For all her interest, she sounded amused and bored at the same time. Maria could tell that the queen did not care about her circumstances in the slightest and if Maria tried to force her way through, she should be stopped.

Still, Maria took one step toward the source of magic she could feel and the bound body of the queen finally showed moment. Maria instantly felt the pressure of magic as veins parted to show a bony hand holding a spear.

The message was clear - stay away from the source of magic.

"I don't want to be your enemy but I can't allow someone cursed to come in contact without a magical source. I hope you don't take offense" the queen spoke. However, her tone worded it like she was the one who would take offense if Maria tried to get past her.

This was troublesome for Maria and also time-consuming. She neither had the patience nor the time to stay here and play nice.

"Is there some way to break this curse? I can't stay here for long" Maria complained. She was polite in asking but the silence made her lose hope.

"It is not for me to say if there is a cure or not. However, there is one being here that can give you the answer you desire. Everything here is bound by the node's will and the curse we harbor but the creature bound to you is far beyond this realm" The queen hinted before the vines started covering her body.

Maria got the feeling that this was the end of their conversation and the queen was not in a mood to answer anything else.

But she had given Maria enough of a head start to make progress. The answer to all her questions lay with Maria.

'System, do you know some way to break this curse?' Maria asked. She was not going to let her system get away from half-assed answers again.

[System is analyzing the curse……

Analyzing……..

Curse identified….

Searching available cure…..

None in the shop is available. Searching world……..

Possible cure found - 2.

Would the user like to see the list?]

The system asked and Maria instantly pressed yes. And then she felt her heart sink as she read the cure.

One was available in the remains of the node which would be impossible to find without the queen.

The other blinked at the location she had run away from - the younger Yura's home. She would need to backtrack to a place she didn't want to. But Maria would if it meant leaving this place.

She had a task to complete.